Judge Singer sentenced Uhl to four years probation with 90 days jail

Timmy Uhl and Donnie Marx have a long standing feud going, according to court testimony from residents who live at the McLaren House in Sterling. Both men are elderly and have medical conditions. Uhl is in his 60s and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Marx is in his mid 70s and needs the assistance of a wheelchair.

The feud between the two men reached its peak last December when Uhl attacked Marx in the courtyard of the housing complex. According to the Sterling Police report posted in the Journal-Advocate on Dec. 14, 2016, Uhl was arrested for crimes against an at-risk adult. Uhl pleaded guilty.

Since the incident, Uhl has been out on bond awaiting his sentencing. He and his wife have remained living at McLaren.

Uhl's sentencing hearing was held Monday in the Logan County District Court with Judge Michael Singer presiding over the case. According to statements made during the hearing, Uhl had been serving as a residence aide at McLaren when he first met Marx. Apparently the two men got along fine for a while and then for some reason, they began having disagreements that often bordered on physical violence.

Before sentencing, Singer allowed comments from supporters of both men. Several residents from McLaren showed up in support of Uhl. Richard Heariet, supporter for Uhl, said the police were called numerous times to intervene between Uhl and Marx. He also claimed that 30 residents wrote complaints to housing staff about the situation, but nothing happened. He said Uhl was constantly being mistreated by Marx.

Advertisement

Another woman who spoke in favor of Uhl said the attack was "out of character" for the man who was known for helping residents at the low-income housing center. She claimed Marx was a dangerous man who was known to violate the no indoor smoking policy and at one point even threatened Uhl's wife. She said Uhl was more than patient with Marx, but had apparently reached the "boiling point" when he attacked Marx while the disabled man was sitting in his wheelchair.

Another resident, Goldie Ell, told a completely different story when it came to the character and behavior of Uhl. Ell claimed that Uhl was often drunk and at one time threatened a number of residents saying, "I will kill any of you handicapped and mentally ill." She also told the judge that several of the residents believed that Uhl was going into their rooms and stealing items. She said she believed Uhl should go to prison for attacking Marx.

Marx also spoke at the sentencing. He told the court that he often "received bad treatment" from Uhl, including a number of verbal threats before the attack. Marx said during the attack in the courtyard that Uhl bashed him in the head knocking out his teeth and injuring his right eye, causing him to have five surgeries. Marx told the judge that he has limited vision in his right eye because of Uhl. He also claimed that he wasn't the only person Uhl abused at the housing center.

Before giving his sentence, Singer asked Uhl if he wanted to address the court. Uhl, who was on oxygen, told the court that he "did do a bad thing," but he "had a lot done" to him. He said his health has suffered since the incident at McLaren and he is waiting for a lung transplant. At the conclusion of his remarks, Uhl leaned into the microphone and said to Judge Singer, "I am at your mercy."

Both the prosecution and the defense in the case acknowledged that Uhl could be sent to prison for a number of years for the assault on Marx.

Assistant D.A. Travis Sides said if no prison sentence was handed down, the prosecution would recommend five years probation, with a minimum of 90 days jail sentence plus keeping the protection order intact for the victim.

Defense Attorney Oleh Snieko asked the judge to take all the factors of the case into consideration, including the health of Uhl, his previous criminal record and his ability to be rehabilitated into account before sentencing.

In his sentencing remarks, Singer told the court that he had taken into consideration the serious nature of the crime as well as Uhl's pre-sentencing investigation which showed that Uhl requires a low level of supervision and has proven his ability to complete court mandated orders. Singer then told Uhl that if he was "younger and healthier" he would be facing a three-year prison sentence for the assault.

However, Singer sentenced Uhl to four years probation with jail as a condition of the probation. Uhl will serve a 90-day jail sentence with two days credited for time already served. Judge Singer agreed, at the request of the defense attorney, to grant Uhl a 30-day stay on reporting to jail to allow the elderly man and his wife to find a new home. The protection order for Marx will remain in place. Uhl will also be required to take alcohol classes and make a charitable contribution of $500 to charity that promotes eye sight.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.